OAKED! New Term For Me... I Plan to Practice It

CallMeKate

Well-known Member
Location
Mid-Atlantic US
I just heard the term this morning for the first time. Oaked. It stands for One Act [of] Kindness Every Day. I always thought "random acts of kindness" was a great concept so I'm going to try to put it into practice again. Today I will be writing a handwritten letter to a cousin I haven't seen in years. Tomorrow I plan to pay for the groceries of the person in front of me in the checkout.

You guys up for a challenge today? What will your "oak" be?
 

Seriously let me tell you about one of the kindest acts that's been given to me.. I'll cut the story short as I can

On another forum some years ago, we were discussing knitting. I bemoaned the fact that I can't knit Arran style, but would love an Arran cardigan. Another poster said she loved knitting, and if I was prepared to pay for the wool she would knit it for me. I had never spoken to this lady before.. but it was such a kind offer I accepted. She asked for my sizes, and she knitted the cardigan in scarlet as I'd asked. No mean feat as all knitters will know, and she did it in record time..

When finished she asked for my address, and I said I must pay you first, she said that she would put the details of the bill and her address into the package and trusted me to pay. When the beautiful Cardigan arrived, inside was an envelope with a letter which said that ''Mary'' ' sister had been diagnosed with incurable cancer... and as she watched her sister die, she begged God if her sister could live, that every day of her life she would do a kindness to a stranger whether large or small in thanks to God for her sisters health.

her sister made an incredible miraculous recovery and 'Mary'' kept her promise to God.. and she said '' Today Holly it's your turn''.. and I want or need no payment..

..She left me with no address..or number.. and disappeared immediately from the forum as quickly as she'd appeared.

I've never forgotten her
 
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I have been practicing random acts of kindness for decades. They often come about because something delays me while running errands putting me in right time and place to help someone. This has happened so often that i no longer feel frustration over the delay but anticipation--telling myself to 'watch for it, the opportunity to help someone in need.

More often it is 'every day' kindnesses: holding doors; letting some one with fewer items then myself check out before me --the most registers any store in our small town has is 3 and often only one open; telling managers about employees who are extra helpful, helping pick up things someone drops; just smiling and being friendly to most everyone; kicking in needed coins, especially when due to shortages it helped both the person paying and the store.

While the OAKED concept sounds good and if it converts more people to practicing everyday kindness habitually, naturally as they breathe, it will be very good. One should not discount, dismiss or invalidate the value of routine common courtesy, friendliness and kindness.

Having been on the receiving end of such things, often when i most needed them, i can vouch for the impact often being much deeper than one might think.
 
Seriously let me tell you about one of the kindest acts that's been given to me.. I'll cut the story short as I can

On another forum some years ago, we were discussing knitting. I bemoaned the fact that I can't knit Arran style, but would love an Arran cardigan. Another poster said she loved knitting, and if I was prepared to pay for the wool she would knit it for me. I had never spoken to this lady before.. but it was such a kind offer I accepted. She asked for my sizes, and she knitted the cardigan in scarlet as I'd asked. No mean feat as all knitters will know, and she did it in record time..

When finished she asked for my address, and I said I must pay you first, she said that she would put the details of the bill and her address into the package and trusted me to pay. When the beautiful Cardigan arrived, inside was an envelope with a letter which said that ''Mary'' ' sister had been diagnosed with incurable cancer... and as she watched her sister die, she begged God if her sister could live, that every day of her life she would do a kindness to a stranger whether large or small in thanks to God for her sisters health.

her sister made an incredible miraculous recovery and 'Mary'' kept her promise to God.. and she said '' Today Holly it's your turn''.. and I want or need no payment..

..She left me with no address..or number.. and disappeared immediately from the forum as quickly as she'd appeared.

I've never forgotten her
What an amazing story, thanks for posting! :love:
 
Seriously let me tell you about one of the kindest acts that's been given to me.. I'll cut the story short as I can

On another forum some years ago, we were discussing knitting. I bemoaned the fact that I can't knit Arran style, but would love an Arran cardigan. Another poster said she loved knitting, and if I was prepared to pay for the wool she would knit it for me. I had never spoken to this lady before.. but it was such a kind offer I accepted. She asked for my sizes, and she knitted the cardigan in scarlet as I'd asked. No mean feat as all knitters will know, and she did it in record time..

When finished she asked for my address, and I said I must pay you first, she said that she would put the details of the bill and her address into the package and trusted me to pay. When the beautiful Cardigan arrived, inside was an envelope with a letter which said that ''Mary'' ' sister had been diagnosed with incurable cancer... and as she watched her sister die, she begged God if her sister could live, that every day of her life she would do a kindness to a stranger whether large or small in thanks to God for her sisters health.

her sister made an incredible miraculous recovery and 'Mary'' kept her promise to God.. and she said '' Today Holly it's your turn''.. and I want or need no payment..

..She left me with no address..or number.. and disappeared immediately from the forum as quickly as she'd appeared.

I've never forgotten her
Wow.
 
Random acts of kindness do not need planning, they are spontaneous. I have been brought up this wayā€¦and feel it is between me and the receiver. The feeling one gets when doing something nice for a person who needs it cannot be described.

Matthew 6:3

ā€œBut when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward youā€ (Matthew 6:3-4 ESV).
 
I try to do random acts of kindness whenever I'm out and get the opportunity. Sometimes a smile and a sincere compliment can make a person feel good for the rest of the day. I often find myself doing that. A sincere "Thank you, have a great day" goes a long way too. So many workers don't get showed appreciation. Another thing I like to do is ask to speak to their supervisors (even phone reps) so I can tell them what excellent service I received. Believe me, it is appreciated. If I can help anyone in other ways, I'll do it. I treat others the way I'd like to be treated. Last week I randomly sent someone close to me what amounts to 1/3 of this month's rent. When (they) checked their Cash App, they were totally surprised. I know that person is stretched thin right now and it was just something I wanted to do.
 
Tomorrow I plan to pay for the groceries of the person in front of me in the checkout.
Iā€™m sorry Kate, if this happened to me Iā€™d be upset. I donā€™t need it or a free cup of coffee while in line at a drive thru. Doing it because it is planned is not random. If someone was in line at the grocery store and couldnā€™t pay the bill, that would be different. That would be a random act. Or, Iā€™ve heard of people leaving an envelope containing cash with a cashier so they could top up for someone who canā€™t pay. They would make the random decision. I know your intentions are in the right place.
 
Maybe this falls under "OAKED" or maybe not. I will say I am always as helpful and kind to others as possible.

Yesterday my friend and neighbor told me that she asked her husband to take her to visit their daughter who lives in another state. He said they can't go away because of her mother. Her mother is 98 and lives upstairs and they get her groceries and check on her daily. She also has an aide who comes once a week to clean. She is really in good shape for her age, in fact I ran into her yesterday in the elevator as she had just finished doing her laundry. I told my friend to tell her husband that they can stock her mother up with groceries and I will go upstairs every day to check on her mother. Also our other friends in the building would visit her too. My friend has not seen her daughter in years now and should go to see her. If she needs something from the store one of us can get it for her.
 

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